London (CNN Business) The UK economy has shed 730,000 jobs since the coronavirus pandemic shuttered businesses in March, with the young, the old and the self-employed bearing the brunt of the unemployment crisis. The overall drop in employment in the quarter was the biggest since the great recession of 2009 and coincided with lockdown measures that shut non-essential stores and restaurants, restricted movement and enforced strict social distancing. Wages over the three months to June dropped for the first time since records began in 2001, the ONS added. That means living standards fell, even before inflation is taken into account. There was also a record drop in the number of self-employed in the second quarter, and the number of people claiming unemployment benefits, including those working fewer hours or on low incomes, more than doubled between March and July to reach 2.7 million.

Source: CNN August 11, 2020 10:07 UTC